Innovate UK launches competition around robotics skills development
Innovate UK has opened the Robotics Adoption Programme – Skills Development competition, a funding opportunity focused on supporting projects that develop skills to enable the adoption and effective use of robotics and automation technologies across the UK.
The competition forms part of wider efforts to support productivity and the uptake of advanced technologies by addressing skills barriers linked to robotics adoption.
Overview
Who can apply: UK-registered organisations working collaboratively
Focus: Skills and capability development linked to robotics adoption and use
Funding available: Up to £2.5 million in total grant funding
Opening date: 2 February 2026
Closing date: 25 March 2026 (11:00am)
Purpose and context
In June, the government published its Modern Industrial Strategy, which set out a 10-year plan to boost investment, productivity and resilience across the economy. This included 8 sector plans, some of which featured commitments to invest in robotics technologies, with the most notable announcement being the creation of a Robotics Adoption Programme.
This programme contains a Skills Development strand, which is focused on building practical skills and capability that support the adoption and use of robotics and automation technologies.
The competition is intended to support collaborative projects that:
- Address skills gaps acting as barriers to robotics adoption
- Link skills development activity to real-world use of robotics technologies
- Deliver clear economic and productivity benefits
By focusing on skills development linked to adoption, the programme highlights the importance of ensuring that organisations and the workforce have the capabilities needed to implement and use robotics technologies in practice, across a range of sectors where robotics adoption is growing.
Key points
- The competition supports collaborative projects involving multiple UK-registered partners
- Funding is focused on skills development, rather than technology R&D alone
- Projects should demonstrate clear links between skills activity and the adoption or use of robotics technologies
Full eligibility criteria and application guidance are available via the Innovate UK competition page here.
techUK’s work on robotics and adoption
At techUK, this work builds on our recent Robotics and Automation sprint campaign, which ran from February to June 2025 and brought together stakeholders from across the robotics ecosystem to explore key challenges and opportunities for the sector.
The sprint campaign examined how the UK can lead on the development, application, and commercialisation of robotics and automation technologies through a series of roundtables, workshops, and thought leadership activity. A techUK report containing key insights and policy recommendations is expected later in 2025.
Building on this foundation, techUK has launched a dedicated Robotics programme, which aims to unlock the UK's robotics opportunity by accelerating adoption, shaping policy, streamlining regulation, enhancing skills and talent, improving access to funding, and driving responsible development and deployment at scale.
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